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Thursday, February 11, 2016

Daily exercise ... for the writing muscle

“Write
every day. You don't have to write about anything specific, but you should
exercise your writing muscle constantly.” – Jane Yolen

Yolen, who was born
on this day in 1939, has written fantasy, science fiction, and children's books
and is the author or editor of nearly 300 books.Her best known is The Devil's Arithmetic,
a Holocaust novella.Among her other
works are the Nebula Award-winning short story Sister Emily's Lightship,
the novelette Lost Girls, and the kids’ books Owl Moon, The
Emperor and the Kite, the Commander Toad series and How Do
Dinosaurs Say Goodnight.

Yolen began writing
as a journalist “for my pocketbook,”

she
said.But her heart was in writing
poetry “for my soul.”

Despite that, her
first non-journalistic work was not poetry but a children’s book and many, many
of her works sincehave been geared toward children.In fact, she is often referred to as “America’s Hans Christian
Andersen.”

“Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by
the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone,” she said as
her words of advice for new writers.“Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely.
Expose your heart.”

About Me

In addition to years of writing of news, sports, and feature stories, both as a journalist and in public relations, I've authored seven books (and counting :), a one-act play, and three songs. I also contributed to two published anthologies.

My newest book, the historical novel And The Wind Whispered, has earned top reviews around the nation and a Silver Award in the Historical Fiction category at the 2016 Colorado Book Awards. Check it out on Amazon or Goodreads. It also is available ion both print and e-book formats through all major book outlets.

I enjoy public speaking on the topics of “Telling
an Effective Story,” “Effective Communication,” and “Storytelling – From
Journalism to Creative Writing" and have been an invited speaker at recent Historical Novel Society and Historical Writers of America national conferences. You can access an interview with me on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3qNiwWshAM

I retired from Augsburg College (and my wife from St. Olaf College) in 2013 when we moved to Colorado, where I've been working on my books, writing for Broadlands Living magazine, and doing freelance marketing and p.r.